Ramie-machine



(No M0161.) 2 Smets-sheet 1.

RAMIB MACHINE.

HHHI

WITNESSES; 'NVENTOR'I By his ./zzorl1eys, H

(No Model.) 2 sheets-slim 2'. E. LYOAN..

. RAMIB ,MAGHINB. No. 340,514. Patented AprpZO, 1886.

ZT i El'. E-

ilNTTnn STATES EDWARD LYCAN, OF HONOLULU, HAVAII.

RAlVlIE-MACHINE'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 340,514, dated April 20,1886.

Application filed November 11, 1885. Serial No. 152,447. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD LYCAN, a citt zen of the United States, and a resident of Honolulu, in the Island of' Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, have invented certain improvements in the construction of machines for preparing ramie and other similar fibrous material for the market, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object a machine for cleaning and preparing ramie and other fibrous plants,whereby the woody parts of the stalks are first crushed and then broken up and separated from the fibrous parts; and the mechanism I employ comprises a pair of smooth rolls for crushing the stalks, luted or corrugated rolls of different degrees of neness for breaking up the crushed woody portions of the stalks, and beaters for separating the crushed and broken woody portions from the fibrous'portions. I also steam or steep the stalks before crushing them, and after passing them through the crushing, breaking, and beating machine, I dry them and again pass them between finely-tinted rollers and under a beater, in order to remove the remaining fragments of Woody matter and bark that may be mixed with the fibrous parts.

In the drawings which illustrate my machinery, Figure l is a side elevation of the principal machine. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig.' 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same, taken in the plane indicated by line 3 3 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the machine for effecting the rolling and beating of the ramie after it has been passed through the principal machine and drie l.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, Als a strong frame, in which are rotatively mounted, first, a pair of smooth crushing-rolls, B; second, a pair of coarselyfiuted breaking-rolls,C; third, a pair of less coarsely fluted breaking-rolls, D; fourth, a beater, E; fifth, apair of finely-tinted breaking-rolls, l?, the corrugationsor flutesin which are still finer than those in rolls D; and, sixth, a beater, G, constructed the same as or similar to the beater E.

Revolving brushes e e,which rotate in a direction opposite to the respective rolls C D and in Contact therewith, serve to free them from adhering particles, as will be well uuderstood.

The rolls and beaters may be driven from the main driving-shaft H by any of the Wellknown arrangements of gearing. I usually employ toothed gearing or driving thev rolls and belts for driving the beaters.

The operation is as follows: The stalks of ramie, previously softened by steaming or steeping, are fed between the crushing-rolls B from the platform I. These rolls squeeze out the greater portion of water and crush the woody part of the stalks. The crushed stalks nonr pass between the coarsely corrugated or fluted rolls C, which serve to break up this woody part of the stalks and to separateit somewhat from the fibrous part. The stalks thus broken now pass between the more finely corrugated or fluted rolls D, which serve to still further increase the breaking up of the wood and its separation. From these rolls the broken stalks pass onto the endless slatted carrier E,whioh carries it under the beater E, which beats out the bits of woody substance from the fiber, and they fall through the carrier E. There is still a considerable portion of the Woody part ofthe stalk left adhering to the fiber,'and after passing und-er the beater E the fiber passes between the finely corrugated or fiuted rolls F, which still further breaks up the woody part, and is then carried under beat-er G by a carrier, G.

Beater G and carrier G may be constructed precisely like beater E and carrier E. The ber, to a great degree freed from Woody substances, is now dried, eitherin the sun or ina drying-room by artificial heat, and is then passed through the machine illustratedin Fig. 4. This machine is like or similar to the last pair of rolls and last beater in the machine just described, and the same description will serve for both. I will merely say that it consists of a pair of finely-corrugated rolls like rolls F, and a beater and carrier like the beater G and carrier G. The dried fiber is fed into the rolls J from platform K, and is carried under beater L by carrier L. rIhis machine frees the dried fiber from the remaining fragments of woody substance and nearly all of the exterior bark. The fiber is now in marketable condition and ready for baling.

IOO

Any good form of beater may beemployed in connection with the rolls; but I prefer that shown,which consists of two rocking bars, a a, each of which is provided with beating-rodsb b. These rocking bars are mounted on the machine-frameatopposite sides, and the rods b in each extend across to the opposite side of the carrier below. The rods b are given an up -anddown alternate beating motion by means of a crank-shaft, c, mounted on the main frame, and connectingrods d, which couple the cranks in the said shaft to arms which project from the bars a.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1.. A machine for crushing and breaking stalks of ramie and other ibrons plants, comprising a first pair of smooth crushing-ro1ls and two or more pairs of corrugated or tinted rolls, the corrugations in the said rolls being coarsest in that pair next the feeding end ot' the machine, and finer in those of the succeeding pairs, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination,with the plain rolls and corrugated rolls arranged in pairs and in the order described, of one or more sets of beaters, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-described process of treating ramie and other fibrous stalks, which consists in first crushing them, then breaking them, then drying them, and then finishing with beaters, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the plain rolls A, the coarsely-corrugated rolls B, the more finely corrugated rolls C, the carrier E', the beater E, the finely-corrugated rolls F, the carrier G',

and the beater G, said rolls and beaters being arranged in the succession shown and described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD LYCAN.

Witnesses:

W. O. PARKE, JoNA. AUsTIN. 

